Texans down Denver

DENVER — Fall behind by 20. Lose by six. Take away those ugly interceptions and this failed comeback should have felt plenty familiar to Peyton Manning.

For the second straight game, Manning’s comeback from way down came up short for the Denver Broncos.

Matt Schaub threw for four touchdowns against a confused Broncos defense Sunday to stake the Houston Texans to a big lead on the way to a 31-25 victory.

Houston reached 3-0 for the first time in the franchise’s 11-season history and beat Manning for only the third time in 19 tries — and for the first time in a road game.

Manning finished 25 for 51 for 310 yards with no interceptions and two touchdowns. Both scores and 100 of those yards came after the Broncos (1-2) had fallen behind by 20, the way they did in Atlanta last Monday when their rally came up short in a 27-21 loss.

Schaub took advantage of blown coverages to connect with Andre Johnson for a 60-yard score and Kevin Walter for a 52-yard touchdown en route to a 21-5 lead in the second quarter.

After the second score, starting cornerback Tracy Porter was not seen on the field again. Porter, who returned an interception for a touchdown in Denver’s only win this year — the season opener against Pittsburgh — spent the rest of the game guarding the Gatorade table on the sideline.

Schaub’s final touchdown was a 14-yard pass to tight end Owen Daniels, who was locked in one-on-one coverage against a slower defender, linebacker Von Miller. It gave the Texans a 31-11 lead — placing the Houston defense in the prevent and Manning into desperation mode.